For many years, buildings have been equipped with gutters and downspouts for removing water from their roofs and away from their foundations. Typically, the gutters of a building are connected to a number of downspouts so that the force of gravity will cause the rainwater to travel down the incline, through the downspout and exit the opening of the downspout. The inclined gutters are designed so that water does not collect in any one place in the gutters. The downspouts are rigidly attached to nearby walls of the building to support the weight and fluid forces caused by the rainwater.
Several problems of known downspout systems are that the elbows between the gutter and the vertical downspout section have only one fixed angle, the angle cannot be adjusted, and they can only bend in one vertical plane. Additionally known elbows between the gutter and the vertical downspout cannot be rotated to redirect the attaching vertical downspout section in a direction to avoid a window or some other feature prohibiting downspout attachment to the building's wall. At the bottom of a downspout system a lower attaching elbow is used to direct the water away from the building. Because the lower attaching elbow only directs water a short distance away from the building piece of downspout extending on the ground away from the building can be connected to the elbow to exhaust the water further away from the building. However, adding another piece of downspout has several drawbacks. One drawback is that the downspout can only be extended in the same linear direction of the elbow of the downspout because the downspout material is not flexible or bendable. Another drawback is that for lawn care or other reasons and the extension of downspout material can be cumbersome to move. Also, the downspout material may be expensive in comparison to other materials.
No known attempts have been made to provide a downspout elbow between the attaching gutter and the vertical downspout section that has an adjustable angle, is 360 degrees rotatable, and is made of rigid material that is not susceptible to cracking. Attempts have been made in the art to provide a downspout extension at the bottom of the vertical downspout that directs water away from a building without simply adding another piece of downspout material. Some examples of these attempts are the bendable, “corrugated” plastic pipes and adapters that are connected to a downspout. Other examples are described in the patents to Sweers (U.S. Pat. No. 5,258,006), Schlein (U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,669), Johnson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,419), and Smith et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,041,825).
Bendable, corrugated, plastic pipe extensions and adapters, such as supplied by Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. of Montezuma, Ga., are known in the prior art. The adapter is connected to the downspout and then the bendable, corrugated plastic pipe is connected to the adapter. Although these corrugated, plastic pipe downspout extensions direct water away from the foundation of a building, they suffer from several drawbacks. One drawback of these corrugated, plastic pipe downspout extensions is that although bendable, they will not hold their position. Thus elbows are required when the user needs a turn in the downspout extensions.
Sweers, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,006, describes an adjustable extension assembly for a downspout that includes a fixed piece attachable to the lowermost end of a downspout, a rotatable collar attached to the fixed piece, and at least one extension pivotably attached to the rotatable collar. The directions and the assembly can be extended to different lengths. However, one of the drawbacks of Sweers is that the assembly can point only linearly and cannot bend around objects.
Schlein, U.S. Pat. No. 3,076,669, describes a plastic bellows elbow with spigot and socket ends. The device is configured for connecting an eaves trough to a downspout. The elbow comprises plastic having limited flexibility and a tendency to cold flow to a predetermined set under sustained pressure and having an elastic memory. The intermediate portion of the coupling is described as being provided with a “bellows formation” that provides a certain degree of flexibility, allowing it to be bent in any direction and expand and contract. However, the bellows in Schlein will not hold its position.
Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,419, describes a hinged extension for downspouts. The hinge allows the downspout extension to be selectively disengaged from the downspout so that the extension can be pivoted to provide clearance for routine yard work. However, the hinged extension described by Johnson is not bendable or flexible and only points in the same direction as the downspout.
Another problem in the prior art is the need to direct the downspout from the gutter at a large angle without the use of a bellows formation. These bellows formations decompose and/or crack and they are unsightly hanging high up and visible on a house. See Schlein '669 at FIG. 7. These bellows formations cannot be rotated 90° to allow the downspout to mount with its longest edge against the house wherein some gutters extend beyond a corner and require this.
What is needed in the art is a rigid downspout joint that is short, esthetically pleasing, inexpensive, durable, 360° rotatable, and bendable up to about 60°. The present invention meets these requirements using a loose ball and socket construction.
The problems solved by the use of this gutter and downspout connection/coupling are the following:
The device allows for positioning of the rectangular downspout in either its long cross sectional dimension, or its short cross sectional dimension with respect to its attaching surface. (What we mean to say is that it can be rotated 90° out of plane.)
The device allows for adjustability of “out-of-plane” downspout attachment points, whereas existing fixed angle couplings/connectors do not. (The plane of the attaching wall may not be parallel with the downward plane of the downspout.)
The device allows for rotation with respect to a fixed gutter outlet point.
The downspout device is comprised of a 2-piece or 3-piece unit that does not need to be glued together from mismatched parts from a hardware store. For instance, to make a part that only allows rotation you would need to buy a length of pipe (sold in 10′ lengths), two rectangular-to-round female fittings, PVC glue, and sealant to seal the lowest female fitting to the downspout.
The downspout device allows for “in-place adjustment” when installing downspouts. (It is not possible to make in-place adjustments with existing fittings as removal is required to glue the assembly for final placement).
The downspout device allows for variable angle adjustments that allow installers to get around obstructions.
The downspout device allows for non-conventional angles (typical conventional angles are 30 degrees, 45 degrees, and 60 degrees) which may be required during installation due to variable gutter overhang distances. The distance from the adjoining house wall to the gutter overhang can vary from house to house.
The downspout device allows for rotation and articulation. Conventional rectangular gutter outlet connections do not allow for rotation of attached conventional rectangular downspouts.
The downspout device gradually accelerates the fluid in the joint by a reducing area causing a venturi effect. From Bernoulli's principle, this creates a slightly more negative pressure which reduces the tendency of leaking at the joint. Conventional downspout fittings do not accelerate the fluid and are more likely to leak at their downspout attachment point.
The downspout device has a circular-arc radial contour in its inner cavity that causes the fluid to be redirected toward the center of the joint. This fluid-centering action of the downspout device reduces the tendency of leaking at the joint. Conventional downspout fittings do not redirect the fluid to the center of the fitting and are more likely to leak at their downspout attachment point.
The downspout device has a circular-arc radial contour in its inner cavity that causes the fluid to be redirected toward the center of the joint. This fluid-centering action of the downspout device redirects sediment and debris towards the center of the joint and reduces the tendency of the fitting to clog. The fluid-centering action forces sediment and debris to move into the faster moving fluid stream in the center of the fitting. Conventional downspout fittings do not redirect the fluid to the center of the fitting and are more likely to clog.
The downspout device is intentionally designed to be non-sealing and to have an air passageway near the reducing area section of the device which allows air to enter into the assembly as the fast moving fluid travels downward. This air passageway eliminates “vapor-lock” when transient slugs of fluid bridge across the entire cross-sectional area of the fitting at the narrowing cross-sections. Most conventional downspout fittings have a water-tight seal at their narrowest internal cross section and when transient slugs of water bridge across their narrowest internal cross section, transient “vapor-lock” can occur slowing down the flow of fluid through the fitting and the downspout. Other conventional downspout fittings may be of poor construction and may not seal tight at their downspout attachment point allowing air to enter. Air entering at this location is not at a narrowing cross-section and therefore does not reduce “vapor-lock” as effectively.
The downspout device is intentionally designed to be non-sealing and to have an air passageway near the reducing area section of the device which allows air to enter into the assembly as the fast moving fluid travels downward. Because this air passageway is located at the narrowing section, from Bernoulli's principle a more negative pressure will occur. This more negative pressure reduces the fluid's ability to travel upwards vertically along the air passage way. This produces an effective liquid-vapor seal and reduces the tendency to leak. Conventional downspout fittings do not have this feature and have a greater tendency to leak at their downspout attachment point.
The downspout device has slotted or depressed surface sections on the sphere (ball) section allowing for easier insertion of the sphere (socket) section. Conventional fluid handling ball and socket joints do not have this feature. (When the ball is inserted or pressed into the socket, the slots make it easier for the two mating pieces to slide passed each other during assembly).
The downspout device is non-pressure holding and is designed with the mating ball radius being smaller than the mating socket radius. The difference between the two radii allows for easier insertion of the ball part to the socket part without exceeding the material elastic limit of the two parts. Other conventional ball and socket fluid handling joints do not have his feature because they are designed to seal the fluid pressure.
The downspout device has multiple pivot points (foci) from which to pivot, which adds additional movability (increased angular articulation). Multiple pivot points can occur because the device is non-sealing. Conventional ball and socket fluid holding devices require the ball radius and the socket radius location to be coincident to each other for fluid sealing. This reduces potential angular articulation of conventional ball and socket fluid holding devices.
Additionally the downspout device ball and socket design does not need to have a water tight seal because of the downward and overlapping design.
The invention has the following advantages over the prior art:                1. It allows for rotation and variable angle articulation.        2. It can make changes in direction in a very short axial and lateral distance.        3. It has ample wall thickness to add to its durability and strength. In part because of the non-sealing nature of the design, the ball and socket mating parts can be thicker and still remain easy to assemble.        4. It is easy for the installer to manipulate, and install.        5. It is short in length in comparison to its cross section.        6. It can most likely be extrusion blow molded, which leads to lower costs of production.        7. It does not need to be flexible to produce its functions. This means it can be made from stronger and more durable material.        8. It has a smaller profile, which is more visually appealing.        9. It has a lower weight because of its smaller profile which reduces shipping costs.        10. It allows for sediment to be flushed through with each rain fall.        11. Its socket and ball design does not need to be a water tight connection, because of the downward and over lapping design.        12. The tendency of the separate parts to creep apart from one another is eliminated by not having a tight junction between the two mating parts. Fluid-tight ball and socket joints have an interference fit between the mating parts and the material creeps and relaxes over time causing cracking and failure.        